Tobacco-sizing machine.



R. H. ROBINSON & C. MHUBBARD.

TOBAGGO SIZING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 1o, 1909.

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I R. H. ROBINSON 6v C. M. HUBBARD.

TOBACCO SIZING MACHINE.

APPLwAYTIoN FILED MAR. 1o, 1909.

Patented Aug. 24, i909.

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R. H. IROBINSON & G. M. HUBBARD. ToBAcco sIzING MACHINE.

APPLIATION FILED MAB. 10, 1909.

Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

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ATTORNEY.

N K K? lUNTTED STATES PATENT OFFTCE..

RAYMOND H. ROBINSON AND CYRUS M. HUBBARD, OF SUNDERLAND, MASSACHUSETTS.

TOBACCO-SIZING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RAYMOND H. ROBIN- SON and Crans M. HUBBARD, citizens of the United States of. America, and residents of Sunderland, in the county of Franklin and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Sizing Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to tobacco-sizing machines and it has for one of its objects the provision of a simple and efficienty machine for this purpose which comprises a series of pockets for receiving tobacco leaves of different lengths, respectively.

Our invention has, furthermore, for its object the provision of means whereby the tobacco leaves may be straightened out to their full llength without in any way damaging the texture of the leaves and so as to be separated or distributed in the different boxes corresponding with the lengths, respectively.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafte appear and the means for their attainment will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Briefly stated, our invention comprises a machine in which there is a traveling platform or platen on which the tobacco leaves are separately placed with their stems toward the operator, these stems being brought up against a gage or stop from which the length of the several leaves is to be gaged. During its travel on and with this platform each leaf is gradually straightened out or uncurled unt-il its full length has been attained whereupon the remote end of the leaf will come out of contact with the straightening device and drop between a pair of coperative rollers whereby the stem of the same will be pulled from between its holding devices and then fed into its particular box.

The invention has been clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which similar characters denote similar parts, and in which- Figure 1 is a top View of a machine embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a fractional top view of the ends of a few of the feed rollers. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section of the machine on line 3, 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a front view of the machine. Fig. 5 illustrates in diagrammatic form the manner in which the feed belts are organized. Fig. C shows a fractional plan of the pinch belt Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led March 10, 1909.

Serial N0. 482,532.

whereby the stems of the leaves are retained during the straightening process of the leaves, and Fig. 7 shows in detail a top and front view the manner of driving the several feed rollers. Figs. 8 and 9 are sectional views in detail hereinafter referred to.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 denotes a suitable frame work having at,

its side a bracket 11 which constitutes a bearing for a short shaft 12 which is journaled therein and has a pulley 13 to which power may be applied from any convenientsonrce. The shaft 12 has also a pulley 14 which is connected by a belt 15 with a pulley 16 on a. transversely disposed shaft 17 constituting the primary driving member for a movable platform or apron which is adapted to receive the leaves upon its upper surface and on which the leaves are straightened out in a manner to be hereinafter described.

The rear end of the shaft 17 has a pulley 18 connected by a belt 19 with a driver' 20 on a shaft 21 having a roller 22 secured thereto and serving as an actuator for a series of belts c, b, c, d, e, f, g and L, the adjacent edges of which are in close running contact with each other, and which are of different lengths as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The other ends of these belts pass around idle pulleys 23 which are journaled on studs 24 rigidly held 'on a frame bar 25 extending diagonally across the general frame and so arranged that the belts a to 7L inclusive are of progressively increasing length, the principal aim thereof being to carry each succeeding belt for a short distance beyond that of the preceding one, from this organization it follows that the belt which is farthest remote from the front of the machine, will be the longest so as to carry the leaf of greatest lengt-h clear of the preceding belts from a t-o g inclusive.

Disposed near the front of the machine and running longitudinally thereof, is a carrier belt 26 which passes around the roller 22 above referred to, thence over a pulley 27 Patented Aug. 24., 1909.

on a transverse shaft 28 around an idler 29 v belt 32 which constitutes the other member` of the stem engaging mechanism and which is driven lby a pulley 3B on a shaft 231i to which movement may be imparted from the shaft- 2S above referred to,'as for instance by gears 35 and 36 secured to the shafts 84, and 38, respectively. The other end of the pinch belts passes around an idler 35 suitably supported on the frame, as for instance by a stud 36 (see Fig. 6), and, in order to maintain the adjacent runs of the two superposed belts 26 and in close running contact with each other so as to retain their grip upon the stems of the leaves, we have provided for the belt 26 a support yor table 37 (see Fig. 3) which is recessed as shown, so as to guide the upper run of the belt 26 and keep it from sagging; while the lower run of the pinch belt 82 is not only resting thereon by its own gravity but is, furthermore, held in ruiming contact therewith by a series of idle rolls 38 mounted on the ends of levers 39, the gravitative force of which is still, furthermore, augmented. by springs 40 secured to the front edge of the table 37.

In order to adapt the table 37 so as to engage the leaf stems in the proper manner, we preferably employ the construction shown in Fig. 6 in which the table 37 is illustrated as being pivoted at 4:1 to a longitudinally disposed ledge Ll2 which constitutes a part of the frame, while the rear edge of the table may be raised or lowered, as desired by an adjusting screw t3 pivotally held on an ear 54 of said table.

The leaves are piled up on one end of the machine, as for instance on a platform P (see Fig. 4) which is slightly inclined so that the operator can readily bring the stems of the leaves against a front gage which in the present instance consists of a vertically disposed but horizontally running belt (see Figs. 1 anda), this belt having the same speed as all the other traveling devices of the machine and traveling over a pulley 51 mounted upon a stationary stud 52 and driven by virtue of a scored pulley 53 and a belt from a driver 55 secured upon the lower shaft 28 above mentioned. The gage belt 50 has only a comparatively short run and passes at its other end around a pulley 56 journaled on a stud 57 secured to the frame, its principal function being that of having the ends of the leaf stems resting against its inner run and then traveling along with the leaf supporting belt 26 until the stem is introduced between the latter and the pinch belt 32 so that the leaf or stem will in this manner be guarded against dam` age, and also so that the leaf stems will be properly and uniformly introduced between the pinch belts.

By referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the first one z" of the series of carrier belts is considerably wider than the belts a. to 7L inclusive, this extra width really represent ing all sizes of leaves including and below the minimum size of the smallest leaf to be sorted into one compartment. In other words, all leaves which are shorter than the width of the bel-t z' will be dropped into one compartment; while the succeeding belts will, as a matter of course, carry the longer leaves beyond and into other compartments corresponding thereto. 75

Each leaf as it travels along on the belts will be straightened out gradually to its full length, and the mechanism for performing this function consists in the present case of a 'bel-t 60 supported on a pulley 61 which is 80 loosely mounted on a brace` 62 extending laterally of the machine and the other end of which passes over a driving pulley 63 on a shaft 64 which is journaled in bearings 65,

66, respectively, secured to the frame. By referring to Fig. l, it will be seen that this belt is disposed diagonally across the machine so that each leaf as it is brought along by the carrier belts L to L inclusive will come into engagement with the belt 60 near the 90 portion of the leaf which rests upon the belt l) so that, inasmuch as the belts 60 and the several carrier belts L to h inclusive are traveling at' the same surface speed," a gradual pull will be exerted upon the body of the leaf, which pull tends to straighten the same to its ful-lest extent without, however, doing the least. injury to the leaf during this process.

Each leaf after it has been straightened out will naturally arrive at a place where it will pass out from contact. bet'ween the belts 60 and the carrier belt so that therefore its end is released and it will drop between a pair of cooperative discharge rollers of which a series is employed in the present machine and indicated by a, b, c, cZ, c',

f g and respectively. These rollers are slightly inclined as shown in Fig. 3 and provided at their rear ends with thimbles 70 having trunnions 71 which are supported in bearing blocks 7,2. These blocks are preferably nonrotatable see Fig. 2), being held on the studs 24 above mentioned, by a pair of oppositely disposed set-screws 78 which 115 permit said blocks to adjust themselves to the inclination to the several discharge rol-l* ers, the front ends of which Aare driven from the main driving pulley 13, or more particularly speaking, its shaft 12, in the manner clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 7. Here it will be seen that each discharge roller consists substantially of a ,tubular shell into the open front end of which is driven a head 7 5` having a spindle 76 projecting ltherefrom 125 and adapted to enter a two part bearing 77 which is supported between a pair kof'clamp bars 80 extending longitudinally of the machine and secured to the frame in aV convenient manner. i

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The main shaft 12 is connected by means of a universal joint 81 with the spindle 7G projecting from the roll c', this spindle also carrying what may be termed a driving pulley S2, the surface of which is knurled to engage and drive the adjacent pulley or disk 83 which is preferably covered with a layer of rubber, the organization being alternately knurled head and rubber head throughout the series so that in this manner the discharge rolls are all operated from the main shaft 12 and in the proper direction for cooperation of each pertinent pair.

Disposed below the discharge rolls, are partitions which form pockets p, p2, p3, 794, 2f', p, 2f, p5 adapted to receive the leaves after they have been straightened out andV released from the carrier belts, so that after a promiscuo-us pile of leaves has been passed over the carrier belts, the pockets will contain all the leaves pertaining to a certain size, and such leaves that are longer than roller z' will pass over the same one onto the extended ledge 2).

F reni the organization shown in Fig. 1, it is evident that the straightening out belt has to be speeded in such a. manner as to have its travel diagonally across the belt at such ratio as to conform to the longitudinal travel of the carrier belts, or in other words, so that for instance a certain point of the belt G() will advance obliquely of the carrier belt for an amount corresponding exactly to the straight longitudinal travel of the carrier belts, hence I have provided on the shaft Get a pulley S5 which is connected by a belt SG with a proper sized pulley 87 on the shaft Bel, said belt running over idlers 88 suitably journaled on the frame work, as for instance on a bracket S9.

rEhe operation is as follows: 1t being supposed that a pile of leaves is placed on the platform P disposed at the right hand end of the machine as seen in Figs. 1 and 4e, the operator takes each leaf and places it with its stem resting against the gage belt 50 and resting on the carrier belts a to L as far as the leaf itself will reach thereon. This is all the' operator has to do, the machine taking care of the leaf in an entirely automatic manner, as follows: 1n Fig. l the leaf L is the first one to enter between the pinch belts 2G and 32, as it is carried along by the carrier belts z', a and Z). During its travel the leaf will encounter the straightening belt which will (according to Fig. 1) engage the leaf at about the point Z and this belt will then exert a gradual pull onthe leaf away from the front of the machine and tending to pull the stein out from between the pinch belts 2G and 32, the grip of which, however, is strong enough to resist this action. After the leaf is straightened out to its fullest extent, it will pass out from under the belt G0 and the free end will drop between the discharge rollers L which engage the entire surface of the leaf and pull the same out from between the pinch belts and deposit the same in the compartment of pocket 292. The next leaf L2 will drop between the rollers a in a similar manner and fall into pocket p". The next leaf L3 will travel along on the belts until it leaves the' straightening belt GO so as to drop between the discharge rollers f', the last leaf shown L* will be discharged from the machine by the discharge rollers d and discharged into the pocket p4. 1n this manner the leaves are all taken care of irrespective of their size and the sorting process takes place accurately and rapidly.

Many changes may be made in the construction of the several parts constituting the cooperative elements of our improved machine, or in the organization thereof without departing from the spirit of the invention.

By mounting the series of paired rolls angulail to the plane of the run of the pinch belt and straightening belt, they operate to withdraw the leaves of different sizes taken by the respective pairs of such rolls from the pinch belts.

The pinch belts and the straightening belt, as shown in Figs. S and 9 have surfacings 90 and 91 of plush or like compressible material which allows the belts to equalize and remain in their normal proximity irrespective of variation in the thicknesses of the stems carried between the pinoli belts or of the' leaves engaged by the straightening belt,-the practical eitect being that each and every tobacco leaf will be efficiently engaged to be carried along and subjected to the sorting operation of the machine.

le claim:-

l. A tobacco sizing machine comprising a movable support for the leaves, means for holding the stem ends of the leaves on the support, a belt movable with the support and cooperative with the holding means for straightening the free ends of the leaves, and means for releasing the straightened leaves from the support at certain points thereof.

2. A tobacco sizing machine comprising a traveling support for the leaves, independent means for positioning and holding the stem ends of the leaves on the support and movable therewith, a traveling belt for straight ening the free ends of the leaves during their movement on and with the support, and means for releasing the straightened leaves from the support at certain points thereof.

3. 1n a tobacco sizing machine, the combination with a travelingA support for the leaves comprising a series of belts of progressively increasing length, means for operating the belts simultaneously and at uniform speed, and means for holding and guid ing the stem end of the leaves for traveling in parallelism with the movements of the belts, of a device for gradually straightening the free ends of the leaves during their travel on and with the support, and means for releasing the straightened leaves from the support at certain points thereof.

4. In a tobacco sizing machine, the combination With a traveling support for the leaves comprising a series of belts of progressively increasing length, means for operating the belts simultaneously and at uniform speed, and means for holding and guiding the stem end of the leaves for traveling in parallelism with the movements of the belts, a belt traveling diagonally across the support belts for gradually straightening the free ends of the leaves during their travel on and with the support, and means for releasing the straightened leaves from the support at certain points thereof.

The combination With a support for the leaves comprising a series of belts of progressively increasing lengths, means for operating said belts simultaneously and at uniform speed, of means for positioning the stem ends of the leaves on said support, a pair of cooperative pinch belts movable with the support and adapted to hold said stem ends between them, a device for straighten ing the free ends of the leaves during their travel with and on the support, said device comprising a belt traveling diagonally across said support, and devices for engagingthe free ends of the leaves after their release from the straightening-out device to remove the stem ends of the leaves from said pinch belts.

G. The combination with a plurality of carrier belts of progressively increasing lengths for supporting the free ends of the leaves, means for driving said belts in parallelism and at a uniform rate otl speed, and means for holding the stem ends of the leaves for movement on and with one of said carrier belts, of a device for gradually straightening out the free ends of the leaves on the carrier belts and a series of cooperative pairs of discharge rollers having their axes intersecting the path of travel of said carrier belts, each cooperative pair lbeing adapted to receive the free ends of the leaves, respectively, after they drop from the carrier belts, and means `for driving said discharge rollers.

7. The combination with a traveling support for `the free ends of the leaves, and a carrier for engaging and moving the st'em ends of said leaves with said support, of a gage comprising a belt movable With said support and for positioningl the stem ends of the leaves relatively to said support and on said carrier prepa atory to the stem-ends being engaged by said carrier.

8. The combination With a traveling support for the free ends of the leaves, and a carrier for engaging and moving the stems of said leaves With said support, of a belt cooperative With the upper surface of said support for straightening out the free ends of the leaves thereon, and means for moving said belt diagonally at a ratio conforming to the longitudinal movement of the support.

Signed by usat Springfield, Mass., in presence of tivo subscribing Witnesses.

RAYMOND H. ROBINSON. OYRUS M. HUBBARD.

lVitnesses G. R. DRIsooLL, RICHARD BELLoWs. 

